Whip-socket



(No Model.)

J. F. BOWER.

WHIP SOCKET. No. 384,605. Patented June 19, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. BOVVER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WHIP-SOCKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,605, dated June 19, 1888.

Application filed February 1, 1888. Serial No. 262,084. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN F. BowER, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Whip Sockets, of which the following is a specification.

Nearly every owner of a horse and buggy has at some time had his whip stolen while his rig was hitched and he was not present. To prevent this species of petty thieving is the object of my present invention, and such object I accomplish by providing the whip-socket of the vehicle with a lock,whereby the whip will be held against removal, and from which it can only be released by a'key to be carried by the owner; and my invention consists in the combination, with a whip -socket, of a lock adapted to secure the whip in the socket having the novel features which are fully explained in the description now to be given,and pointed out in the claims following the same.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved whipsocket. Fig. 2 is a plan thereof showing the whip in section. Fig. 3 is a vertical section upon line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a central vertical section showing the whip locked in the socket. Fig. 5 is a vertical section upon the line 5 5 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

In said drawings, A represents the shell forming the body of the whip-socket, and B the whip. a may represent the band for securing the bottom of the socket to the vehicle. At the top of the body A is a metal housing, 0, riveted or secured to the said body, as at c c, and having slotted wings 1), serving as means for securing the upper end of the socket to the vehicle. Within this housing 0 is located the look by which I secure the whip against removal. A look well adapted to the purpose consists of an eccentric, D, capable of being made to project into the interior of the socket and exert a clamping pressure upon the whip. (See Fig. 4.) Such eccentric is mounted upon the axis (1, having bearings in the sides of the housing, and is operated at will by the arm F, projecting to the outside through the slot e in the housing. The axis (1 carries at one side of said eccentric a ratchet, F, which is engaged by a pawl, G, pivoted to the housing at g, and said pawl only can be moved out of engagement by a key, as H, inserted through the aperture h. When the pawl is thus released, the eccentric is free to return to its normal or unlocking position (see Fig. 3) in obedience to the spring J, encircling its axis, as shown, and the pawl returns to engagement with the ratchet as soon as the key is withdrawn in obedience to its spring f. To fit the key to throw out the pawl its forward end is beveled, as shown at j.

It is desirable, of course, that thelock be provided with some means necessitating the employment of a key peculiarly fashioned, in order thatit may not be too easily tampered with, and hence I employ a tumbler, K, pivoted at k, so that its inner end will be in the path of the key, as illustrated at Figs. 5 and 6, and be depressed by the latter. This movement of the tumbler throws its outer end upward, and such outer end is provided with projections M and N, one entering the ward or and the other the ward at in the edges of the key. Of course if the key be not provided with these wards the inner end of the tumbler cannot be depressed sufficiently to permit its insertion. The tumbler returns to its normal position (shown at Fig. 5) by gravity upon the withdrawal of the key.

The spring J prevents any accidental looking engagement by the eccentric with the whip under thejolting to which the vehicle is subjected.

Another source of annoyance of the same character as that mentioned is found in the loss by theft of lap-robes, 860. The application to the socket of a device for locking the whip enables me also to fasten the rugs or laprobes. Thus, in the drawings,0 may represent a chain to which the lap-robe is supposed to be attached, and 0 a key at the end of said chain. An eye, P, is secured to the side of the socket opposite the eccentric,and the wall of the socket is slotted, as shown at 19, so as to form, in connection with the eye 1?, a horizontal opening adapted to receive said key 0. If, now, the key be inserted in the opening and the whip be also inserted and locked by the eccentric, it will be impossible to remove the key 0 until the whip has been released, so that by locking the whip the owner may aceomplish the further object of securing his lap-robe or other article attached to chain 0. The operation of this part of the device is more specially shown at Figs. 1, 2, and 4.

I claim-- 1. In a whip socket, a locking-eccentric movable by hand into locking position with the whip and provided with a spring tending to prevent accidental locking, substantially as set forth.

2. The whip -socket provided with a lock for securing the whip, consisting of a clampingeccentric, a pawl and ratchet for securing the eccentric, a key for disengaging the pawl, and a spring for throwing back the eccentric, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination,with a whipsocket, of the housing, the eccentric borne in the housing and provided with a handle extending to 5. The combination, with the whip-socket and the whip-clamping eccentric, of a key, 0, and its attached chain, the socket being provided with a horizontal opening, P adapted to admit said key, substantially as set forth.

JNO. F. BOXVER.

Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, EDMUND ADCOOK. 

